Noun phrases containing

relative clauses
Definition
According to the Cambridge Dictionary a noun is a word that
refers to a person, place, thing, event, substance, or quality:

'Doctor', 'coal', and 'beauty' are all nouns.

A noun phrase consists of a noun or pronoun, which is called

the head, and any dependent words before or after the head.
Dependent words give specific information about the head.
Examples of noun phrases:

dependent word(s) head dependent word(s)

love

him

the moon

a gold ring

the red one

good food

my own personal website

that house there

the longest river in the world

a feeling of isolation

the tall, blonde woman we met at Joanna’s house

Noun phrases can refer to a particular example of something
or to a whole class of people or things.
Compare

particular example whole class

my mother women

the red star in the southern sky the stars

New York a big city

Noun phrases: complements
• Complements come immediately after the head
in a noun phrase. They are prepositional
phrases or clauses which are necessary to
complete the meaning of the noun. Without the
complement, we wouldn’t understand what the
noun was referring to.
 pre-head head complement type

prepositional
a rise in inflation
phrase

prepositional
a feeling of fear and loneliness
phrase

that schools should control

the idea clause
their own finances

that the planet is getting

the fact clause
warmer
I’d really miss hanging out with my friends
We can say the same thing in a different way.
Noun phrase
noun + relative clause
One thing (that) I’d really miss is
hanging out with my friends.
The noun phrase can go before or after be. Here it is
before the verb be. It is the subject.
The noun phrase is now the object. It is after the verb be.

Hanging out with my friends is one thing

(that) I’d really miss.
The noun phrase is the subject. It is before the verb be.

One thing (that) I’d really miss is

hanging out with my friends.

The noun phrase is the object. It is after the verb be.

Hanging out with my friends is one thing

(that) I’d really miss.